A week after the Sabarimala temple opened for a two-month pilgrimage season, the number of pilgrims has touched a new low due to political protests as well as tightened security.
According to official figures, while five lakh pilgrims visited the temple during the opening week in the last season, this time the figure is just 1.42 lakh. The sale of ‘appam’ and ‘aravana’ to pilgrims has also dropped, forcing authorities to slow down production.
The main reason for this has been the tightening of the rules for pilgrimage by the police following protests by Hindu groups since September 28 when the Supreme Court allowed women of all ages to enter the temple that hitherto banned girls and women aged 10-50.
The LDF government led by the CPI-M has been trying to implement the apex court’s verdict even as the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and several Hindu groups are up in arms against it.
Any dip in the number of pilgrims to Sabarimala affects the Travancore Devasom Board – custodian of the temple – as the revenue generated from Sabarimala is used to meet expenses of about 1,200 temples under its jurisdiction.
Post Your Comments